Application Essay I decided long ago that my purpose for living is to find happiness. I would never find my life worth living if I could not pursue the interests and opportunities that make my life happy and complete. Before I moved to the United States, when I was still a young person living in Cuba and being unsure of what my future held for me, I settled on being a dentist. When I moved to the U. S., however, my eyes were opened to the possibilities and choices in life. I finally felt that I was in a country where I could strive for my happiness. I finally had the potential to use my love for art for my own benefit as well as for the benefit of society. Therefore, I decided to change my major and seek a degree in photography, which has always allowed me to be myself. While I have always been a naturally shy person, I have no fears with a camera in my hand.
My love for photography started from what must have been a tragic situation. My parents’ divorce, when I was a child, robbed me of the chance to grow up with the memories of a traditional family. My father, however, would always come to visit me, and it was what he brought with him – a camera – that was to change my life forever. I still have memories of my father taking pictures of us with his old camera and, although he had left the country and had stayed away for nine years, the memories of how happy we all were as he took our pictures stayed with me. The pictures he had left behind provided me with my happiest moments, as I marveled at the moments that he had captured with his camera. I fell in love with photography and I have my father to thank for that. However, I started to see photography differently as I grew up. Rather than being a warm memory that reminded me of my father, photography became akin to a powerful tool and language, enabling me to communicate ideas and beauty in my surroundings that other people could not see. Today, photography is a part of me and sometimes I feel it is no different from eating, sleeping, or breathing. I especially like how photography enables me to talk without the use of words, as well as to look for beauty all around me that is not obvious to others.
Most importantly, photography has become my window to the world, something that enables me to define beauty in my own way and to show others this beauty. It is through the art of photography that I am able to help others contextualize social problems. Photography allows me to express my points of view and ideas from my own perspective, and the fact that I do not have to explain the pictures fits in perfectly with my shy personality. This is my priority for happiness now, and I know it is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I believe that studying for my degree at the School of Visual Arts will provide me with the chance to learn from the institution’s professional faculty. I especially would like to join your institution because of its wide array of professionals working in different fields in applied and fine arts.
